January 21, 2007
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Shanghai, China
Left for Shanghai on Dec 29th on the 1:30am flight from JFK direct to Pudong Int'l Airport... luckily my Dad told us that we had to arrive crazy early in order to get good seats since they don't take advanced seating.. nice.. so we arrived at JFK at 9pm for a 1:30 am flight.. but lucked out and got two of the bulkhead seats.. making the 15 hour flight a little less torturous....but China Eastern is horrible horrible airline...service is just nowhere near the standards of Singapore or Cathay Pacific....not even in the same ballpark, they asked us to move in order to let a mother use a crib, a two hour flight.. no prob.. 15 hours no uh.. and we got to the airport 4 hours early to get these seats.. too bad.. and besides.. the two other bulkhead seats were empty and there were single seats in the row of four still empty.. why would they want to move a couple?...either way I told the stewardess hell no....anyways.. I finally got my ass to mainland China for the first time ever for me... and Shanghai was as I expected ...super frenetic with construction.. ridiculously polluted air... most days you could not even see any blue in the sky even on a sunny day... but one thing I didn't expect.. it was freakin freezing....but most importantly.. the food was all I hoped for and then some...
The folks and Yang's Fry Dumpling hard at work... they are easy to spot.. the only joint along this street market with a line out the door any time of day
Fresh batch of shen jian bao coming out.. this dude does not have oven mitts... just folded pieces of cardboard.. they let him pour the grease from the old batch into the new one... mmm...dumpling grease
These guys are the most perfect dumplings in the world... thicker skin on the bottom flash fried crisp... thinner softer skin on the top holding in all the broth and topped with sesame seeds and scallions... inside minced pork with garlic and ginger.... so fresh and hot and 4 of these bad boys for about $0.40
View of the Bund from a rooftop hotel bar
View over the Huang Pu river towards Pudong, the new digs are way to the right of this photo.. about a 5 minute cab ride to the landmark TV tower
Some of IM Pei's sweet architecture at the Suzhou Museum, modern take on classical lines
My dad getting his candle prayer on at a temple
The wife peeking out of a window at the Suzhou Museum
Mopeds getting ready to roll off the ferry, we ran for the ferry after going buck wild at the custom clothes center since there were no cabs to be found... my Dad threw 10 RMB (little over a buck) at the clerk for four ferry tickets... and got 4 RMB back...( fifty cents)...after we crossed decided to ride the bus back to the apt complex... then we stopped at the bakery where my wife decided to eat garbage...as we picked out baked goods from the display.. my wife passes a tray near the register with two wax paper bags and some big pieces of puff pastry on the tray..and decides to eat it... then as a woman walks by her and gives her the stink eye she puts down the other piece of ... well garbage... we never went back to that bakery
My Dad sporting a pair of sweet Oakleys during a bubble tea break
Yummy yummy duck and buns, crazy tasty little sandwiches of smoked duck
Me and the Mrs at the Humble Administrator's Garden
The wife with cotton candy after our night of street food for dinner
It was this cold in "our" room in my parent's new apartment... the wife burrito.. electric heat is not the same as gas heat
One of the streets full of little shops in the old French Concession... sorta like the Village before the $50,000 rents took over
The Shanghai staple.. Xiao Long Bao (Little Basket Dumplings) at Ding Tai Fong Restaurant.. the broth in these little things is delicious.. we saw much bigger versions of these with straws stuck in them...mmm broth thru a straw
Another Shanghai culinary highlight.. hairy crab... these mothers are pricey... almost $20 USD per... like usual not enough meat to work payoff for me.. but I guess tasty
Engrish signs
The wife smirking as she dragged us to the location of the first meeting place of the communist party in China
The two of us digging on street food, my sweet orange "North Face" jacket cost me less than $20 USD.. and it did squat in keeping me warm... fake winter coats are a bad idea
As you might gather food was a big part of the trip for us.. so was getting foot massages.. but they make pretty boring pictures... although the little one did get a kick out of hearing my Dad squeal when getting put into a full nelson by tiny PRC girls... Shanghai is like most other major Asian cities... drivers are insane.. there are LV, Gucci and Chanel stores every few miles.. but the number of hi rise buildings can make even a native NYer look up every once in a while.. but I am used to a city of 8 million... Shanghai is busitng at the seams with 20 million and in Shanghai.. manpower is cheap... I got a suit made for $80 USD and shirts made for $10 USD.... overall the trip was pretty cool.. we got to see and do some cool stuff along with the usual feather ruffling when you put people together for long periods of time on end.. but nothing like Greece and Turkey with both Moms...but let's just say next time a week or so will be long enough... Shanghai is a very cool city and I am looking forward to discovering more of it the next time I go back... by then my parents should have gotten their car and we won't be slaves to taxis and jammed into a tiny VW Santana... there were more than a few occassions I found myself muttering how much I hate Chinese people, spitting everywhere and no sense of personal space.. and they are not bashful about throwing a few elbows if you are in their way... must be some deep seeded self hate issues with me
cost of getting into a cab in Shanghai = 11 RMB... little over a buck...
cost of getting into a cab in Tokyo = 660 Yen... almost 7 bucks... yikes....
This was my first trip to Shanghai but will def not be my last since I plan to go back and see my folks at least once a year... so expect to see plenty of more pics from Shanghai
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